In this episode of Season B, Sam, Neil and Ally focus on the world of baking. Sam cooks up some delicious (or not) baked beans, Neil considers the Bath bun and Ally dives into bagel culture.

Useful links, references and things mentioned in the episode:

Baked Beans

Beans: A History by Ken Albala (2007)

The Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Child (1829)

The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook by Fannie Merrit Farmer (1896) - (this is a link to the 1910 version)

The Truth about Baked Beans by Megan Muckenhoupt (2015)

America’s Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking by Keith Stavely & Kathleen Fitzgerald (2004)

A shilling cookery for the people : embracing an entirely new system of plain cookery and domestic economy by Alexis Soyer (1854)

Britain’s obsession with baked beans

What’s For Tea, Mum? Beanz Meanz The Who!

Martha Stewart’s Boston Baked Beans

Bath Buns

English Bread & Yeast Cookery by Elizabeth David (1977)

English Food by Jane Grigson (3rd edition, 1992)

The Taste of Britain by Laura Mason and Catherine Brown (1999)

Neil’s recipe for seed cake

Neil’s recipe for wigs

Cobb’s Bath Buns recipe on Neil Cooks Grigson

The Bath Bun Teashoppe

Bagels

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/g43212153/street-party-food-ideas-recipes/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/these-black-bagels-are-the-anti-rainbow-bagel/

The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread by Maria Balinska

https://fairmountbagel.com/bagels-in-space/

Prince William and Kate Make Bagels in East London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhhDQeLWMfY

https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2014/06/17/curious-history-bagel/

In this episode, we explore food places beginning with 'B.' Neil uncovers the buttery—not the hearty Scottish roll, but the traditional place where wine is stored. Allie dives into the origins and charm of the bistro, with its revolutionary roots where food and culture come together in cosy, intimate spaces. Meanwhile, Sam unwraps the story of Bourneville, where chocolate and community collide.

Useful links and things mentioned in the episode

• Good Food by Ambrose Heath (1932)
• What the butler saw : two hundred and fifty years of the servant problem by E. S. Turner (2001)
• Cooking & Dining in Tudor & Early Stuart England by Peter Brears (2015)
• Cooking & Dining in Medieval England by Peter Brears (2012)
• What’s in a Name?: Buttery by Neil Buttery (2016) British Food: A History blog
• The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture by Rebecca L Spang (2000)
• A Bite Sized History of France: Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War and Enlightenment by Stéphane Henaut and Jeni Mittchell (2018)
• The Bistro: French Food and the Culture of Place by Bertrand Auboyneau and François Simon (2018)
• French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David (1960)
• What is Olla Podrida?
• A Siege of Paris ‘Menu’
• Cadbury World
• Bournville Village Trust
• Bournville Village Heritage Tour
• A Brief History of Birmingham
• You can visit some examples of the city's Back-to-Backs run by the

This is the uncut discussion between Neil and Rachel Webster, Curator of Botany at the Manchester Museum. There is more talk of fruit and berries, including a gobsmacking fact surrounding avocado seeds, and we answer the all-important question: Is an apple a berry?

Find out more about the Manchester Museum here

You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and Bluesky

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/aisforapplepod

Email: aisofrapplepod@gmail.com

Welcome back to Season 2 of the A is for Apple podcast where Sam Bilton, Dr Neil Buttery and Dr Alessandra Pino will be exploring the bountiful letter B.

In this episode our team take a healthful approach to the start of the season. Allie goes bananas, Sam explores a once popular low-carb diet and Neil discovers why some fruits are only masquerading berries despite their names.

You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and Bluesky

Sam Bilton also hosts the Comfortably Hungry Podcast and is the author of First Catch Your Gingerbread, Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron and The Philosophy of Chocolate. You can find her on Instagram and Bluesky

Dr Neil Buttery also hosts the British Food History Podcast and is the author of A Dark History of Sugar, Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald Britain’s Most Influential Housekeeper as well as Knead to Know: A History of Baking and The Philosophy of Pudding. You can find him on Instagram and Bluesky

Dr Allie Pino hosts the Fear Feasts Podcast with Vanessa Baca and is the co-author of A Gothic Cookbook. You can find her on Instagram and Bluesky

In this bonus episode Sam explores the Instagram sensation that is the avocado and why this berry that takes its name from the Aztec word for testicle makes some people rather anxious. This is the full interview with author and environmental journalist Louise Gray, who’s book Avocado Anxiety tracks the stories of our five-a-day from farm to fruit bowl and uncovers the impact that growing fruits and vegetables has on the planet.

You can follow Louise on Instagram and X or find out more about her work here.

You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and X (Twitter).

In this extra bonus episode, Neil talks with Sam and Alessandra about why getting plenty of nitrogen in the soil is good for making amino acids and therefore protein.

You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and X (Twitter).

Sam Bilton also hosts the Comfortably Hungry Podcast and is the author of First Catch Your Gingerbread, Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron and The Philosophy of Chocolate. You can find her on Instagram and X.

Dr Neil Buttery also hosts the British Food History Podcast and is the author of A Dark History of Sugar and Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald Britain’s Most Influential Housekeeper. You can find him on Instagram and X.

Dr Alessandra Pino also co-hosts the Fear Feasts Podcast and is the co-author of A Gothic Cookbook. You can find her on Instagram and X.